Surely that starts within the workplace itself? How do you think companies can be more encouraging when it comes to pursuing mentorship opportunities?

SR: “People’s employers should absolutely be encouraging personal development and taking the time out of day-to-day production to work on things that are a bit more intangible. There’s this tendency to separate it and view mentoring or community building as an addition to a day’s work when it really should be built in. Networking isn’t an add-on to someone being their best self in the workplace – it should be baked into the working day.”

The current trend is “reverse mentorship” and recognising the value of the mentee as well as the mentor. Do you also see it as a two way thing?

SR: “Completely. I think that the challenge is that the mentee needs to feel confident in what they can bring to the table. When you’re young, it can be easy to feel like you have nothing to share or nothing to give, but being closer to the ground than your mentor is or having an understanding of a different generation can be really powerful.

“It’s about coming to meetings with confidence and thinking: what can I give my mentor that they are unable to access themselves at this point in their career?”

Can you tell me a bit about a mentorship figure in your life and how they’ve impacted you?

SR: “I’ve never had a formal mentor but I would say that I’ve been mentored by both men and women who have just been wonderfully supportive in helping me with problems. Sometimes I’ve had questions like ‘How do I close a deal?’ or ‘How do I create a global company?’, but other times they’ve sponsored me for an award or put me forward for opportunities.

“It’s as much about the conversations you have as what happens after you leave the room. You want to be coming to their mind when they’re chatting to someone else and building those connections even when you’re not physically present. I always want someone mentoring to still be thinking about how they can support you after you’ve left.”

The Stack World Conference: CEO Sharmadean Reid on why every woman should have a mentor at work